"Saaaay Mommy"

Jack never says Mommy. Trying to get him to say Mommy has become a little game with us... He can say it, he just chooses not too. Whenever I ask him to say Mommy he smiles and laughs and moves on.

Yesterday I was trying to get him to say, "thank you Mommy" after I had given him a candy cane. Every time I said "saaaay thank you Mommy" he looked at me, said "thank you" and then laughed. I kept stressing, "thank you MOMMY" until finally he looked at me with his sly little smile and said "thank you for the candy cane".

Jack is 23 months old today!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful

This weather is a nightmare. I hate it. I don't usually mind the cold, or the snow, but I can't stand when it snows and then rains and freezes, turning your street into a sheet of ice... Or when the snow plow piles everything up in front of your house making it almost impossible to shovel, because it is now a pile of ice.

It took me over an hour to get my car out of the driveway this morning. I never park in the driveway. I moved my car off of the street yesterday so that the evil snow plow could do it's job and instead of getting a nice clear spot where my car is usually parked, I got a pile of ice. Thanks snowplow guy. As an aside, my neighbor went to go by an ice pick.

I bent one of my windshield wipers this morning whilst trying to chisel the ice from my car. Normally I would take the optimistic approach and think of it as a motivator to go and get new wipers but annoyingly enough, in a rare moment of insanity I had recently made a trip to the Auto Zone and purchased new ones.

Apparently most of the stores in our area have run out of rock salt. I never understand why this happens. You would think that they would get it right by now... Supply and demand people. Every year there is winter in New England, every year it snows, every year people need rock salt. The shelf stockers should have figured this one out by now.

I hate that I can't take the kids outside to play. In the nicer weather going for walks to the park and playing outside is a HUGE part of our day. I would let them play outside in the snow if I weren't afraid that their snot might freeze, oh that and the fact that the snow is actually ice.

*update: Ice picks are hard to come by at the moment. On the upside, my nice elderly neighbors (who helped push my car this morning) have found some sand or something and gritted the driveway and our front walk!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Valentine's Day was pretty uneventful around here... It was too cold/snowy/rainy to go out so our neighbor and her 2 little boys came over to make cookies with Annabelle and Jack. They brought over chocolate heart shaped lollipops (seen here in the picture) and by the time they left all of the kids were hopped up on sugar and covered in flour and chocolate.

The rest of the day was spent running in circles around the house and making cards for Daddy.

Later on...

Annabelle gives Jack a big Valentine's Day hug

Or was she trying to choke him?

Out Of The Mouth Of Annabelle:

"Mommy, please stop... You can't sing".

*observation made while I was singing along to a CD in the car

Tickle? Me Elmo TMX

OR... Beat Me, Kick Me, Wrestle Me, Throw Me To The Ground And Run Me Over With A Shopping Cart Elmo.

Happy Birthday Annabelle!!!

It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. I remember it so clearly... We stopped off at Safeway and I sat in the car and waited with Annabelle while Nick ran in to fill my prescriptions. It was my first time truly alone with our new baby and I was very nervous. I kept touching her lip and putting my finger under her nose to make sure she was breathing. She was so still, so peaceful. I remember taking this picture with my cell phone while I was in the car in that parking lot waiting.

If someone had told me that three years later my quiet, peaceful little daughter would become this loud, rambunctious, mad little creature, I would have told them that they were insane. But alas, they would have been right.

Annabelle is quite mad, and she is very, very silly. She loves to make goofy voices and do imitations, and she has a wild imagination. She also loves to pretend... This week she has been pretending to be "Annabelle Puppy" and has been calling me "Mommy Puppy". When I ask her a question I'll sometimes get a random bark and a nod of the head as a response.

Most times Annabelle is extremely outgoing and makes friends very easily. She has no problem going up to a group of kids at the park and saying hello... Even when they are 16.

She still has her obsession with balls, she could even be considered a collector of sorts. At last count she had over 50 of them... All types, all sizes, I think she now has 4 full sized basketballs and 6 soccer balls.

Annabelle loves to paint and draw. She loves play dough, picture books, musical instruments, singing and dancing. She is particularly fond of "noodle dancing" aka dancing in the nude. Whenever she is getting undressed she asks if she can be a noodle, and do a little noodle dance. (More evidence to support her father's theory that she will someday become a stripper). She loves an audience.

Annabelle is becoming more grown up every day. She can carry on a conversation and is even getting a bit sarcastic. She has been known to throw out the occasional wise comment and eye roll every now and again. She can be very dramatic at times.

She can also be very sweet and caring. If anyone is upset she is usually the first one to inquire as to what is wrong. She usually follows up with a big hug and a pat on the back in an attempt to console them. She likes to tell you to be careful, and to not slip or choke or fall down the stairs, not in a bossy way, but rather a cute and genuinely concerned for your well being sort of way.

She loves her little brother, and although they do get into the occasional "tug of war" over toys, for the most part they get along really well. Whenever she is not with Jack she gets very concerned as to where he is and what he is doing.

Although Annabelle likes to act like a big girl, in many ways she is still such a baby. She loves her crib and doesn't want to move into a big girl bed because she feels the crib is just the right size. She still uses her Binky, which is upside down 90% of the time. She can't go anywhere without her Blanky (same ducky blanket in the infant picture above) and she refuses to use the potty.

I love the fact that she mispronounces certain words: Vanilla is "Balella", Yellow "Yeyyo" Upside "Up-spied". There are a few others that I can't think of right now.

Her Daddy nicknamed her "Mini Madness" 2 years ago and she has very much lived up to the name... And we wouldn't want her any other way!

*Annabelle had her 3 year Dr. appointment on Feb. 7th- she weighs 30lbs and is 38 inches tall. The Dr. preformed a series of different tests to see how well Annabelle knows her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and a few other random items... She got them all right, and she also passed an eye test.

Quote Of The Day

Annabelle: "Excuse me mommy, I don't think you should change Jack's diaper... It's too dangerous".

Little Artists

Here they are. Picture perfect. Hard at work. Creating a master-piece. Getting along. Sharing. Painting together. Like little angels...

What is not pictured is the fight. The fight over the brown paint. The fight that was such a mess I had to put the camera down to break up. The fight that ended with brown paint (and pink paint, and yellow paint) all over the floor. All over them. All over me. The fight that started it all.

The fight that sent Jack into a painting frenzy, causing him to paint on the floor. On the walls. On the cabinet doors. On his face. On his sister. On me.

The fight that provoked Annabelle to splatter paint, Jackson Pollock style, all over the floor. All over the walls. All over the cabinet doors. All over herself. All over her brother. All over me.

The fight that made me question why on earth I thought the two of them could paint together. In the kitchen that I had just cleaned. On the floor that I had just washed.

I wish I was able to get some pictures of the fight. It was very amusing, but at the time, too much of a hazard for the camera... And for me.

Here is one of the paintings that I was able to salvage.

Not that bad, for two cheeky little monkeys.

Snow Day

Every time it has snowed Annabelle has wishfully said "I think it's going to stick this time"... I suppose it was only a matter of time before she was right. We finally have some snow that stuck around for more than 20 seconds. It's only a light dusting but enough to keep the small puffy people happy! There are a few more pictures in the photo album to the right.

The Art Of Persuasion

Allow me to demonstrate how it's done:First, state what it is you are trying to achieve:

"Cookie" *sob sob* "cooookieeee"
Second, attempt to impress:
Here I start moaning and doing my best Mummy impression,
then throw myself against the cabinet doors... Any wall or hard surface should work just fine. Lastly, show them that you really mean business:

I then gently lay down on the floor and scoot myself across the room, making sure to keep the tears flowing for dramatic effect. Shortly thereafter desired results should follow. And always remember... Never give up.

~Jack

New Orleans

Nick and I went to visit our friend Christian in New Orleans over the weekend. We stayed with Christian and his girlfriend Kim, in the outer edge of the French Quarter... Marigny actually, the place where all of the recent murders have been taking place!

We made it back safe and sound but not without incident: We arrived Thursday afternoon and were picked up at the airport by Christian and Kim, who had just come from the hospital because apparently, the day before we arrived, Kim had fallen down the stairs and broken her foot and now needed surgery! It was a bummer for us because they had planned a bunch of activities for Friday (my birthday), some of which included a massage and a facial, but now Kim was scheduled for surgery that day so Nick and I were on our own.

So Friday we headed into the French Quarter and toured around most of the day. It was all a bit hazy at first as we both were feeling very ill; Nick from a hangover, me from a stomach bug. Towards mid afternoon though we both started to feel better so we did what any good tourist in New Orleans would... We hit the bars. Many of them.

Several hours later we stumbled back to Kim and Christian's where we spent the evening catching up with them and marveling at the fact that we didn't get shot on the way home from the Quarter.

The next day Christian took us over to see the progress on his house, which is in the process of being rebuilt after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It has now been raised up about four feet and is currently gutted on the inside. We crawled under the house and peeked in through the missing floor boards... Everything from roughly four feet and below has been completely torn out, everything above that looks shiny and new. It was obvious that the house had been recently spiffed up before the hurricane.

As we were driving around the city I was amazed to see the amount of damage there was. People all over were living in trailers out in front of their homes while waiting for them to be repaired/rebuilt. Many people had just up and left the city and abandoned their homes... Every other house it seemed had a "for sale" sign posted on it. Other postings on houses included the spray painted "taggings" of the National Guard and CHP, listing the findings of each house after initial search; 2 human, 2 canine etc... pretty eerie. Also pretty scary was the fact that you could see the water level lines on the sides of the freeway, up to 6 feet in some places, and as Kim pointed out, there was even a whole stadium that was completely under water. To see it all in person was very surreal.

Later on Saturday afternoon we headed off to The Dome for the Saints vs Eagles game. Nick, Christian and I walked through the French Quarter, along with thousands of other rowdy fans marching to the stadium, stopping in a few bars along the way. Poor Kim had to be chauffeured to the game and missed out on all of the excitement. Having never been to a NFL game before I had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised to discover that we would be watching from Kim's suite, which was completely stocked with a full bar and enough food to feed half of the stadium. It was a great game... And The Saints won too!

Sunday we set out for home. I was eager to get back to see our little monkeys as they had been sick and vomiting the whole time we were away, so of course our flight was delayed and we arrived 3 hours later than scheduled...

More photos from New Orleans in the photo album. (link in the sidebar)

Sculpture Park

An escapee from the Trojan Pig!

Little Princesses

Annabelle's little friend Abby is really into princess stuff and dressing up. She has about 20 of these dresses, plus shoes, fans, tiaras, boas, the works. Actually, her 3rd birthday party was princess themed, and every little girl there was wearing a fancy dress... Except Annabelle who refused to put one on.

Annabelle has never shown much interest in the whole "princess" thing, and at the moment, doesn't really seem to be that much of a "girly" girl. She does some "girly" stuff... Likes wearing dresses, playing with dolls and having tea parties etc.., but she seems much more interested in sporty things. She's not overly into dress up and loves to play with balls, trains and cars. So I was surprised when Annabelle asked to wear a princess dress while we were over visiting her friends Abby and Mary Kate.

Here are the little princesses in their fancy dress! Annabelle wore her dress for about two minutes and then begged to take it off... Obviously she was more interested in playing with the little computer thingy than posing for the camera!

A Few Things To Work On In 2007

Nick asked me what my New Year's resolution was going to be this year and immediately the first thing that came to mind was to lose a few lbs. Such an easy answer, but also a boring one... Everyone says that. So I took back my answer and instead decided to make a list of things I would like to accomplish and work on in 2007. The list is ever growing and in no particular order:

1. Try to shower daily
2. Get dressed every day, even if failed at #1
3. Shave legs at least once a week
4. Eat less chocolate
5. Read more books
6. Try harder to keep up on current events
7. Repaint living room
8. Refinish bedroom furniture
9. Paint master bedroom
10. Paint exterior house trim
11. Make prints of all digital photos
12. Organize all digital photos (after printing) and put into photo albums
13. Frame (and hang) more photos
14. Complete at least 2 paintings
15. Continue with my quest to find the perfect Margarita
16. Make it a point to see people even when I'm feeling lazy
17. Stop being lazy
18. Get to the gym at least twice a week
19. Go to the movies more often
20. Get my hair cut more than once this year

Happy New Year!

More Knitting

I finally finished knitting this sweater for Jack. It took forever. Not because it was overly difficult, but because I'm what you might call a "slacker knitter". I'm pretty happy with how it turned out though... It fits him AND it didn't fall apart!! (yet).

Not bad for a second attempt. (Well, third if I count the dud sweater I knit whilst pregnant with Annabelle).

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Day...Annabelle patiently waits to open presents
Jack patiently waits for Daddy to let him play with the trains
Carefully inspecting a gift from Auntie
Jack tries to have a go on the keyboard BUTquickly realizes it's a lost cause and moves on to the car trackStill going, and has now added karaoke Unable to take the noise, I mean singing, any longer, Jack retreats to the kitchen The single will be available soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Eve

Santa makes a surprise visit to Nana & Papa's house...

But Santa, where are your reindeer?

OH BOY! You brought presents for meeeeeee!!

Um... Actually Annabelle, this one is for your brother and by the look of things he is ready to fight you for it.

I'm Such A Sucker

I had originally purchased this piano with xylophone for Jack as one of his Christmas presents, then decided to return it because he is also getting a super sonic keyboard which makes this toy seem really lame. As I was leaving the house on the way to return it I got side tracked and left the toy (in it's box) in the bag on the dining room table. Guess who found it and claimed it was her new favorite toy?

Just Jack

In The Bath

Me: "Annabelle, come over here so I can rinse the shampoo out of your hair."
Annabelle: "I'm a little bit busy right now mommy."
Me: "What are you doing?"
Annabelle: "I just need to fill this water can... And I'm very busy."
Me: "What are you going to do with the water can once it's filled?"
Annabelle: "I'm just going to pour it on Jack's head."